Hi everyone. My name is Holly and i have a 6 year old son that i am considering homeshooling due to problems at his school. This is one of the best web sites I have come across and reading other posters concerns have answered many of my own! We are a military family and recently moved from Alaska to South Carolina. We maintain our Alaska residency and plan on continuing to do so. So my question is - which state laws do we follow? I would prefer to stick with the AK ones because they don't seem to focus on the end of year testing nearly as much. And how would it work when we move again? Would we constantly have to check on the different state laws and change our system? We do hope to get orders overseas in the next year or so, that is another factor. I feel a bit overwhelmed with this idea, but i really think it is the best option for him at this stage in his education. Any help you could give would be greatly appreciated.

I would think you'd have to follow the laws of the state you're actually homeschooling in. I'm not an expert so I don't know for sure.

I'm curious though, how do you retain residency to one state while living in another? When I've moved, I've always just lived there. I never dealt with residency in one state or another?_________________To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

you can maintain your residency in one state even if you can't live there. we just keep our AK driver license and pobox open. we cannot claim residency in any other state or it gets revoked, (you could be asked which is your state of residence on fishing license, court proceedings, etc.)for alaska we just need to return to the state for 72 hours every two years, or provided proof that we were unable to do so do to military reasons. we do plan on going back, just not soon. ak residents have the benefit of no state taxes, and we receive the permanent fun every year (oil money!). it is where we are initially born and we love it there, but we hope to see the world for a while before returning. hope that answers it.

my biggest reason for using AKs laws governing homeschooling, would be the testing issues. that seems to be one of our biggest issues here is SC, all my son is prepped for is how to take a test to pass to the next grade so the schools get more money. he really hates school this year, and he has stopped enjoying the things he used to love like reading, math, and art. poor kiddo begs to stay home with mom and the daycare kids every morning, and even crys himself to the bus stop. it breaks my heart to see him struggling with his education so early. both my husband and i really loved public school, but it just doesn't seem to be helping him. both in kindergarten and now in first there are questions as to whether he should advance. he knows the material, but rushes to finish everything and does terrible at tests.

Interesting question. This is a quote from a letter by Cheney some years back in reply to this issue:

Public education within the United States is a matter which our constitutional system leaves to the discretion of each State. Each State, therefore, makes its own laws pertaining to education. These laws are binding on all persons within the State's border, including the dependents of the Department of Defense (DoD) (including the Military Services). The Secretary of Defense does not have the legal authority to issue the kind of regulatory exemption from State education laws which you have suggested."

So you have to follow the rules of whichever state you're actually living in. I know this is a pain, but that's what the law says. The homeschooling requirements for SC are as follows:

you can maintain your residency in one state even if you can't live there. we just keep our AK driver license and pobox open. we cannot claim residency in any other state or it gets revoked, (you could be asked which is your state of residence on fishing license, court proceedings, etc.)for alaska we just need to return to the state for 72 hours every two years, or provided proof that we were unable to do so do to military reasons. we do plan on going back, just not soon. ak residents have the benefit of no state taxes, and we receive the permanent fun every year (oil money!). it is where we are initially born and we love it there, but we hope to see the world for a while before returning. hope that answers it.

Awesome! Sure does! Thanks!_________________To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

Overseas military family members live in the host nation under military auspices and the particulars of their presence has been qualified by treaty-type documents called Status of Forces Agreements (SOFA) that codify their 'temporaryness' in the host nation. Because of the SOFAs military members and their dependents are considered "not ordinarily resident." Overseas military dependents are under host nation jurisdiction but they are granted relief from some local requirements, again by the terms of the SOFA.

I assume that in that case you would homeschool under AK law, since the foreign nation would have no jurisdiction over your choice of education.

Calla_Dragon: I hope you realize that while you may be officially a resident of your original state for tax purposes and so on, education is under the jurisdiction of the state you're actually living in._________________Homeschool Articles - Events - Support Groups

Calla_Dragon: I hope you realize that while you may be officially a resident of your original state for tax purposes and so on, education is under the jurisdiction of the state you're actually living in.

Yeah, that's what I thought would be the case for this lady. It doesn't make sense to be to homeschool in one state under another state's laws since each state here has jurisduction over their own education. Homeschooling (as a military family) under your state's laws in another country would be another story, altogether as your posts point out and that, also, makes sense to me. I would think that an American family who chose to live in a different country for reasons other than military would be subject to that country's laws about homeschooling, yes?_________________To be idle is a short road to death and to be diligent is a way of life; foolish people are idle, wise people are diligent.

Yes, as far as I know. If you're an official resident of the country, then you have to follow their rules for education. That's why we list a number of foreign homeschool organizations as well as US groups: